National
DOD officials: Benefits for gay troops will be examined
DOMA restricts most benefits from going to gay troops with partners


Marine Maj. Gen. Steven Hummer and Virginia "Vee" Penrod, co-chairs of the Repeal Implementation Team (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Possible benefits that could be afforded to service members with same-sex partners will be the “the largest piece” of what the Pentagon intends to examine in the 60 days before “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is off the books, according to DOD officials.
Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Steven Hummer, chief of staff of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Repeal Implementation Team, identified benefits Friday as among the policies “important to the department and service members” and said they’ll be examined before and after the military’s gay ban has been lifted.
“The department will continue to study existing benefits to determine those, if any, that should be reviewed based on policy, fiscal, legal and feasibility considerations, to give the service member the discretion to designate persons of their own choosing as beneficiaries,” Hummer said.
Hummer made the remarksĀ during a news conference at the Pentagon intended to answer questions about the path forward for the military now that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal has been certified. The president, the defense secretary and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certified repeal Friday in accordance with the repeal law, which means the military’s gay ban will be off the books on Sept. 20.
Even with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” off the books, gay service members with partners or spouses faced inequities thanks to straight service members in marriages on issues such as living expenses and medical care, travel, housing benefits.Ā Much of this inequity is because of the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage.
Asked by the Washington Blade whether the Repeal Implementation Team identified any partner benefits that could go to gay service members despite DOMA, Virginia “Vee” Penrod, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military personnel policy and co-chair of the Repeal Implementation Team,Ā said the group determined to hold off on those determinations until after repeal takes effect.
“When we looked at the plan for implementation of the law, our priority was to develop the training and ensure that the force is trained,” Penrod said. “And looking at that priority, we realized the benefits, although very important ā that we would wait until repeal before we decided to look in the benefits; which we will do upon repeal.”
Pressed by the New York Times for an example of a benefit that may be afforded to service members despite DOMA, Penrod said legal counsel may be among them.
“We have, like, legal policy for ā where an individual could come in and would request legal assistance,” Penrod said. “And whether or not is that just for the service member or can I bring in my partner and also have assistance, and so that’s an example. There are just some that are not by law, but it’s by policy.”
Another reporter continued to ask whether the difference in benefits for gay and straight service members “may cause friction” in the armed forces that could disrupt unit cohesion.
Hummer maintained the Pentagon “willĀ continue to follow the law” as mandated by DOMA and leaders are responsible for maintaining good order andĀ discipline “irrespective of sexual orientation.”
In addition to maintaing that an examination of benefits is in the works, Pentagon officials disputed the notion that an executive order would be necessary to provide non-discrimination protections for gay service members. While “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is on its way to being lifted, no new statute has been put in its place to protect gay troops from discrimination.
Some advocates have been calling for an executive order from President Obama that would prohibit discrimination against service members on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Obama administration hasn’t explicitly said whether or not it would issue such a directive, but Pentagon officials have maintained the current military code within the chain of command is sufficient.
Asked whether an executive order would be needed to address discrimination, Hummer replied, “I believe it does not.”
“All service members, irrespective of their sexual orientation, are entitled to an environment that is free of any bars that would prohibit their full growth to as high a responsibility as they could reach,” Hummer said.
State Department
Protesters demand US fully restore PEPFAR funding
Activists blocked intersection outside State Department on Thursday

Dozens of HIV/AIDS activists on Thursday protested outside the State Department and demanded U.S. officials fully restore President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief funding.
The activists ā members of Housing Works, Health GAP, and the Treatment Action Group ā blocked an intersection for an hour. Health GAP Executive Director Asia Russell told the Washington Blade that police did not make any arrests.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Jan. 24 directed State Department personnel to stop nearly all U.S. foreign aid spending for 90 days in response to an executive order that President Donald Trump signed after his inauguration. Rubio later issued a waiver that allows PEPFAR and other ālife-saving humanitarian assistanceā programs to continue to operate during the freeze.
The Blade on Wednesday reported PEPFAR-funded programs in Kenya and other African countries have been forced to suspend services and even shut down because of a lack of U.S. funding.
āPEPFAR is a program that has saved 26 million lives and changed the trajectory of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic,” said Housing Works CEO Charles King in a press release. “The recent freeze on its funding is not just a bureaucratic decision; it is a death sentence for millions who rely on these life-saving treatments. We cannot allow decades of progress to be undone. The U.S. must immediately reaffirm its commitment to global health and human dignity by restoring PEPFAR funding.”
āWe demand Secretary Rubio immediately reverse his deadly, illegal stop-work order, which has already disrupted life-saving HIV services worldwide,” added Russell. “Any waiver process is too little, too late.”
The White House
Trump bars trans women and girls from sports
The administration reversed course on the Biden-Harris policy on Title IX

President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued another executive order taking aim at the transgender community, this time focusing on eligibility for sports participation.
In a signing ceremony for āKeeping Men Out of Womenās Sports” in the East Room of the White House, the president proclaimed “With this executive order, the war on womenās sports is over.”
Despite the insistence by Trump and Republicans that trans women and girls have a biological advantage in sports over cisgender women and girls, the research has been inconclusive, at best.
A study in the peer reviewed Sports Medicine journal found āno direct or consistent researchā pointing to this conclusion. A different review in 2023 found that post-pubertal differences are āreduced, if not erased, over time by gender affirming hormone therapy.ā
Other critics of efforts to exclude trans student athletes have pointed to the small number of people who are impacted. Charlie Baker, president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, testified last year that fewer than 10 of the NCAA’s 522,000+ student athletes identify as trans.
The Trump-Vance administration has reversed course from the Biden-Harris administration’s policy on Title IX rules barring sex-based discrimination.
āIf youāre going to have womenās sports, if youāre going to provide opportunities for women, then they have to be equally safe, equally fair, and equally private opportunities, and so that means that youāre going to preserve womenās sports for women,” a White House official said prior to the issuance of the order.
Former President Joe Biden’s Title IX rules, which went into effect last year, clarified that pursuant to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), sex-based discrimination includes that which is based on the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The White House official indicated that the administration will consider additional guidance, regulations, and interpretations of Title IX, as well as exploring options to handle noncompliance by threatening federal funding for schools and education programs.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump ādoes expect the Olympic Committee and the NCAA to no longer allow men to compete in womenās sports.ā
One of the first legislative moves by the new Congress last month was House Republicans’ passage of the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act,” which would ban trans women and girls from participating in competitive athletics.
The bill is now before the U.S. Senate, where Republicans have a three-seat majority but would need 60 votes to overcome the filibuster.
California
Los Angeles Blade names new publisher
Alexander Rodriguez brings deep media, business experience to outlet

The Los Angeles Blade, Southern Californiaās leading LGBTQ news outlet, today announced the appointment of a new publisher, Alexander Rodriguez.
Rodriguez has a long background in queer media, business development, and a deep commitment to the Los Angeles community. He has worked as a lead writer and podcast host for Metrosource Magazine and for GED Magazine; content director for FleshBot Gay; and as host and producer for the āOn the Rocksā podcast. On the business side, Rodriguez spent years working in business development in the banking industry throughout Los Angeles. He also has an extensive background in event planning and management and has served on the boards of many LGBTQ non-profits. As a TV and radio personality, he has served as emcee for LGBTQ events around the nation.
āIām excited to bring my diverse media and business experience to the Los Angeles Blade,ā Rodriguez said. āWe will continue the Bladeās mission of serving as our communityās news outlet of record during these challenging times and work toward building bridges within our community and beyond.ā
Rodriguez starts in his new role on Monday, Feb. 3.
āWe are thrilled to welcome Alexander to the Blade team,ā said Kevin Naff, one of the owners of the Los Angeles Blade. āHis multimedia and business side experience will help us grow the Blade in L.A. and continue our commitment to best-in-class journalism serving the LGBTQ community in Southern California.ā
Rodriguez becomes the Los Angeles Bladeās second publisher following the unexpected death of founding publisher Troy Masters in December. Masters served in the role for nearly eight years. The community will come together for a celebration of Mastersās life on Monday, Feb. 10, 7-9 p.m. at the Abbey.
āTroyās legacy is in good hands with Alexander at the helm alongside our new local news editor, Gisselle Palomera,ā Naff added.
The Los Angeles Blade, launched in 2017, celebrates its eighth anniversary in March. It is the sister publication of the Washington Blade, founded in 1969, which offers unmatched coverage of queer political news and is the only LGBTQ outlet in the White House press pool and the White House Correspondentsā Association, and the only LGBTQ outlet with a dedicated seat in the White House briefing room.
Alexander Rodriguez can be reached at [email protected].
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